


So Simple it's Spring

by Milana16



Series: A3!week2020 bc I can't keep deadlines to save my life [2]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Itaru is just there to be hot ig, Sakuya's in slightly sticky situation, Spring Family, and bullying the bullies Chikage is in this one, badly written Oz etude, rest of Spring's troupe breaking a cold sweat: something is wrong in this universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milana16/pseuds/Milana16
Summary: Encounter with a high school bully could end badly for Sakuya but.Not on Chikage (and rest of Spring's troupe aka Sakuya Defense Force)'s watch.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Citron & Minagi Tsuzuru & Sakuma Sakuya & Usui Masumi & Utsuki Chikage
Series: A3!week2020 bc I can't keep deadlines to save my life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661944
Comments: 7
Kudos: 99
Collections: A3 fic recs in case I get asked again





	So Simple it's Spring

**Author's Note:**

> It is set somewhere in Spring, so at the end of act 5/beginning of act 6? Oz has his last performances to perform, but Chikage is already his regular overprotective-of-his-new-family self.  
> Also, somebody give Tsuzuru a coffee pls.  
> (Prompts for day two: Spring, Outside work, Hurt/comfort)

‘Are? Isn’t that Sakuya?’

The voice that wakes him from his daydream isn’t nice. It shows surprise that gradually changes into gleeful leering by the end. He turns to the source of the voice - a mistake! - and confirms that indeed, there is a young man his age with hair dyed blonde, looking down at him from in front of the library door. Sakuya smiles, all of his defenses coming up. Thanks god for all the acting training he’s done since joining the troupe...

‘Sakata-kun! Long time no see!’ he’s sure he sounds as sincere as he always do, but something must rub other the wrong way, for he scowls at him. Well, when he didn’t scowl at Sakuya though.

‘What are you doing there?’ No hints of former surprise, still lots of leering. Sakuya’s survival instincts flare up, but he doesn’t let any of that show. If he shows anything but smile, he’s already lost.

‘Well...’

‘Looking at where only better than you can enter, hmmm? Where _people_ and not parentless _parasites_ like you will get to learn?’

Sakuya can feel his smile stiffen, but.The people slow down their walk, looking in their direction. If they end up making a show, it might influence negatively Mankai’s reputation, so. Just get through it it is.

‘Not really...’

‘”Not really” he says.’ the other mocks while slowly approaching him, and Sakuya takes reflexive step back.

He knows Sakata. Knows why he chooses to say what he does to Sakuya. Knows that, for all his parents' care and wealth, Sakata never managed to gain any real friends, contrary to Sakuya, who’s had quite a tight circle of colleagues in school, and then, the whole of Spring Troupe. Not that Sakata knows of Mankai, too busy with being perfect student and perfect manipulator to bother looking around, noticing how on Veludo, theater is all that counts.

Sakuya feels equal parts pity and fear of the other boy. How can someone not knowing of the wonders of theatre find happiness? Those feelings are probably why he was never able to fight Sakata back, ever since the first time they encountered each other, when Sakata slapped Sakuya’s outstretched hand away, calling him orphan eyesore, which hurt more than he could hide at the time. Sakata has caught on, and ever since then, would corner Sakuya whenever he was alone, rubbing it into his face; the _you’re unwanted, useless, a parasite, not loved, not belonging there_.

Sakuya has learned to smile through all of that, because if he let on what he really feels listening to these words, every single one slicing his heart to pieces, the flow of truthful insults would never stop. Not until his friends would come and snach him away, throwing hostile looks over at Sakata, but unable to say anything back. Sakuya has learned to hide his hurt behind his simile because his friends worried too, and he hated worrying people, because it made all the insults ( _useless, eyesore, parasite)_ just a bit more true.

Besides, his and Sakata’s ways didn’t overlap all that much beyond that first trimester when they ended up in one class; ever since, they weren’t assigned same homeroom teacher through remaining eight trimesters of high school, and their respective circles of friends or „friends” didn’t really overlap.

Sakata wasn’t bad, Sakuya was sure of it. If he was, he would come out of his way to assault Sakuya, to corner him even when their ways separated. Yet, with just a tiny bit of caution from Sakuya, they never talked through almost two years, with the worst thing happening to Sakuya because of Sakata’s actions being him having to confirm his situation to his new classmates every trimester. Most of them didn’t even care, and exposure through constant repetition made Sakuya just a little bit more comfortable with the topic too, so, it wasn’t really that bad, right?

He was sure that, now that he and Sakata have graduated, they wouldn’t have to meet ever again, which was really fortunate. He wouldn’t bother Sakata with his presence, and without constant nagging at the back of his head to watch his back, Sakuya could focus on pouring his heart out to the public on stage.  
This kind of thinking led to this meeting, and Sakuya takes another step back, which made Sakata grin. He never resolved to physical bullying, but it felt good to see a reaction from the goddamn orphan that looked as if he had anything in the world, when he had _nothing_. He was making him a favor, setting him in his place.

‘Let’s make something clear.’ he approaches, because that goddamn smile is still there, and he intends to wipe it off, right along with the shy shine in the eyes that should look at him with dull respect. ‘You are a _thrash_ , who shouldn’t even set a foot in school. That’s why you didn’t get into university I did get into, right? Your place is-’

He hesitates, looking for the proper word. Were sewers enough? No, then he would leech off of public money, that was even worse, where should he-

‘Sakuya-senpai?’

He looks in the direction of the voice. It’s familiar, but not completely. It sounds too clean, too well pronounced...

‘Masumi-kun! Done with the school already?’ Sakuya turns towards the kid in their former high school’s uniform and ah- Usui Masumi, the super popular and super grumbly Junior of theirs.

So why that grumbly Junior speaks with a full voice and a tone of respect towards Sakuma- wait, didn’t he use his first name?! And on top of that, are this little crowd around him all his fangirls?!

‘It was only briefing today.’ Sakata blinks. Just when did that Junior of theirs made his way between Sakuma and himself? ‘That is?’

‘Sakata Shuichiro-kun, um...my former classmate.’ Sakuma pauses before the latter part, and Sakata snorts with disdain.

‘Of course you’d want a relation to somebody like me, huh?’ he says, Sakuma flinches, and Usui... Usui’s eyes sharpen.

‘Former classmate for a trimester.’ Sakuma tries to amends, but if he thought he would let go of him just with that...

‘Seems like a shady person.’ Usui notes in a full voice, and Sakata gapes. ‘Don’t keep in touch with him, senpai. It might badly influence the Company and _her_.’

‘Have you not heard what I said, brat? Who would want to associate themselves with the-’

_‘Rick! God’s grief, where did this kid went to?’_

New voice cuts in and Sakata spares a moment to register a green haired and green eyed, good looking salaryman looking in their direction (looking for his kid, maybe?), before refocusing on his targets... who are _gone_.

Not in the literal sense, nobody can move that fast, but. The orphan he knows is gone, gone is his Junior; instead, a complete strangers with their faces are exchanging glances, before turning their bodies towards the salaryman, one voice exuberant, while the other aloof.

_‘It’s Oz-sama!’_

_‘Magician Oz, we haven’t seen you in a while.’_

Is that... the orphan? And the Junior who never really looks at anyone?

 _‘Sorry, sorry, I had some urgent business to attend to.’_ salaryman waves his hand carelessly.

 _‘Are you sure of that?’_ Usui quirks his eyebrow.

_‘Could it be that you suspect me, Wizard of the South?’_

Sakata doesn’t realize what is going on until he starts hearing whispers and movement of people around him change, slow down, gather around the three- no, four of them?

 _‘Are you planning on tricking someone yet again, Magician Oz? Your cute disciple cannot cover for you every time.’_ says the man with light brown hair, appearing behind the group, making them jerk away. Sakata can hear whispers of ‘Spring, Spring!’ grow around him.

_‘G-G-Great Magician of the East_ _?! What do we do, Oz-sama?’_

_‘Calm down, Rick._ ’ green haired speaks with confidence, before pointing to the newcomer’s face, and dark circles under his eyes. _‘You see those? They are a sign of the magic exhaustion.’_

 _‘The exhaustion part is correct, but what it has to do with magic?!’_ Sakata feels his lip twitch against himself, the return was perfectly timed.

 _‘No, the Magician Oz has seen right through you, Magician of the East!’_ Now there is... a weirdo? A foreigner? Whatever, jumping out from behind orph- no, _Rick_ ’s back, making him happily exclaim _„Great Magician of the North!”_. He points accusing finger in the previous newcomer’s face. ‘ _Those are results of the Big Bear Curse!’_

_‘Just what kind of curse is that!’_

There are chuckles all around him now. What is going on.

 _‘Probably the same as my Knights Seventh Mobile curse. The one making you stay up all night...’_ there’s another- handsome - salesman, casually striding right into the middle of the weirdos. Wait, wasn’t he referring to a _mobile game_?

_‘No, Great Mage of West, that’s too chuuni, even for you!’_

Laughter.

_‘Whatever you say, Mage of East. Oz, I need to borrow your disciple’s power.’_

_‘The „Pull” magic? Go ahead, Rick has mastered it long before any of us.’_

_‘Y-You’re flattering me, Oz-sama! Then, I ask you show me the „coin” magic afterwards!’_

The weird scene goes on and on, all of its participants attentive, responsive, connected, and Sakata feels like he’s watching one whole organism moving, working to create unity. He doesn’t realize when the scene ends and he joins in the applause, right with squealing fangirls of Usui. Six men in front of him all thank their audience, calling for them to catch last tickets or whatever, people respond with promises to check them out, before dispersing, the annoying smile on orphan’s face _shining_ with love and appreciation he's showered with. Didn’t Sakata say he had nothing of that at all?

That’s when he realizes, the crowd has dispersed, and five men around Sakuma all stare at him, various levels of hostility and wariness in their stares, until the green haired doesn’t smirk at him, before setting his arm securely on Sakuma’s shoulders. Exhausted brunet has his hand on redhead’s opposite shoulder, and the rest of the group is stationed all around them.

‘Let me finish your sentence for you, Sakata Shuichiro of Yosei U.’ the one playing Oz says loudly. ‘Sakuya Sakuma’s place is right here, with Mankai’s Company Spring Troupe, as its’ leader. And if you have a problem with that-’

‘Chikage-san, enough.’ exhausted brunet cuts the older man off with a sigh. ‘I’d rather you not threaten my university’s kouhai.’

He murmurs something under his nose, Sakata catches ‘you’ and ‘quite possible’. He then speaks up.

‘Although I must agree that if you wanted to boast about your education, you shouldn’t have chosen this university.’

His clothes are worn out, yet he looked cooler than Sakata ever will in his fashionable wear.

‘And if you wanted to humiliate someone with your skills, you’ve chosen wrong place and person. Sakuya isn’t Spring’s leader only in name.’ he finishes calmly, his eyes with the smallest hint of disdain in them out of the five men around Sakuma. Sakata realizes it right now and there.

He’s humiliated. Not with the words spoken right now, but with the previous act, where Sakuma played, shined along those adults and prodigies younger than them, proving once more that he’s better.

Sakata squeezes hands into tight fists and squares shoulders, but, he’s never been a physical fighter, and he’d rather not make another scene against five other people (his survival instincts tell him to run when he makes accidential eye contact with green-haired man- he supposes he needs to listen to them for once).

‘It’s not over yet.’ he grits out, and at least three sets of eyes sharpen at him, but he turns away from the orphan that has more than he ever will have.

*

‘I probably shouldn’t be the one saying that, but, what the hell are two of you doing there? Chikage-san? Itaru-san?’

‘Outside work.’ says Chikage with a push to his glasses that hide his eyes in a glint, instantly making Tsuzuru not believe him.

‘Leaving early for grinding.’ at the same time says Itaru and alright, there’s _no way_ he cannot trust that.

Sakuya turns and bows deeply to them.

‘I’m sorry for troubling you!’

Tsuzuru would roll his eyes if he wasn’t busy reaching out for his leader.

‘You’re not troubling anybody, Sakuya!’ he grasps his shoulders, intent on straightening his leader, but Sakuya doesn’t let him do that. ‘Sakuya?’

‘Don’t cry over something a moron like him has said.’ comes Masumi’s gruff advice. Tsuzuru realizes shoulders he grips are shaking.

‘It’s n-not like that.’ Sakuya straightens abruptly and yes, tears are present on his face, but so is the sunshine smile that leads them in their darkest times. ‘It’s just- Chikage-san has said I belong here and I-’

Chikage snorts a sharp chuckle.

‘You’re the one who invited me in, but you’re grateful _I_ consider you one of my own? You’re ridiculous, Leader.’

‘Chikage-san!’ Tsuzuru calls, but is interrupted as a full force of adult’s body slam hits him and Sakuya from the side. ‘What now, Citron-san!’

‘Secret technique from my country: Sakuya’s Hug!’ is the answer he gets, making Sakuya chuckle softly. He can hear Itaru behind them.

‘Zafra has more sakuyas? I need to catch one for myself then, for the best pulls.’

‘You don’t need to!’ Citron unglues himself from Tsuzuru and Sakuya, only to drag Itaru over and drape his arms around Sakuya awkwardly. ‘You already have one!’

‘Sakuya’s our Leader, not a pet, Citron-san!’ Tsuzuru tries to protest but Citron is gone again, this time dragging Chikage over - holy shit, this man was fearless. Or dumb. Or both, Tsuzuru leans towards the last option, as even more awkward arms embrace him, Itaru and Sakuya, only the last one quite comfortable with the situation.

‘Bunch of men hugging in the middle of sidewalk is gro-ngh.’

‘It’s fine, it’s fine!’ Citron sing-songs, cutting off Masumi and forcing him right in the middle of the hug, next to Sakuya. Tsuzuru sighs, while wrapping his arms around his youngest teammates. Masumi grumbles, but doesn’t throw him or Sakuya off, when their leader opens his arms, trying to embrace all of them back.

 _"Everybody knows it’s just the way this troupe is, after all."_ Tsuzuru thinks as he feels like bunch of grown up men all around him melt into the hug, when Sakuya cheerfully exclaims.

‘Spring is the best!’

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I can't write bullies to save my life so sorry if Sakata seemed bland (fun fact I originally named him Sakai, then I realized that as Sakuya's bully that would be...unfortunate name ^-^'  
> Once again, as I only looked it through for a bit, there might be lots of mistakes, sorry for those. (also yay, first piece with no tatsumus for me! Is that somethiong I should be happy about tho...)  
> (Garden has 1/6(?) of the last chapter written! I swear I will finish it eventually!*sweats nervously*)


End file.
